After oil spill, stingrays wash ashore at UranNavi Mumbai: Local fishermen at Uran were taken aback by an unusual sight on Saturday evening. Over 50 deep water stingrays were washed ashore on the Mankeshwar beach, something they had never seen before. Most of these were adult stingrays measuring 4 feet in diameter, while a few smaller ones were about one foot in length. Locals said it was the first time they had seen so many of this fish species come to the coast with the high tide. While experts say they will have to study this unusual phenomenon, some are also pointing at the recent oil spill as a possible factor behind this. “These (stingray) fishes came in large numbers to the coast; we noticed them as the water receded. Some of them were still alive, and seemed unable to go back into the sea,’’ said a fisherman at Uran. Zoology reader at Mumbai university and a marine expert, Dr Chhaya Panse, told TOI: “It is indeed abnormal to find so many stingrays washed ashore. I have to check the water samples collected from Uran coast recently to see if any dangerous pollutants are responsible for this.’’ Biodiversity researcher Nitin Walmiki said: “It is possible that the stingrays were affected by the recent oil spill or the leakage of strong pesticide chemicals from the containers that fell into the sea after the collision of ships.’’ The stingrays are a family of Dasyatide rays, cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They are common in coastal tropical and subtropical marine waters. They are named after the barbed stinger (actually a modified dermal denticle) on their tail, which is used exclusively in self-defence. Environmentalist Stalin D said: “If oil spill and related sea pollution are responsible for the death of these 50 stingrays, we will also have to find out why it has not affected the other species in the Arabian Sea. Or perhaps, only these marine species were affected by the pollutants, resulting in their sad fate.’’ Daily industrial waste leaves black trail on Alibaug beach Mumbai: The oil spill following the collission of two vessels in the Mumbai seas is not the only factor endangering the marine ecology. Oil and industrial effluents have been washing up the beaches of Alibaug and Kihim for years, leaving the sandy stretches blackened with pollution. The Indian Coast Guard, which under the national oil spill contingency plan is assigned as the co-ordinating agency to monitor coastal pollution across Indian coast, said they had even sent notices to the offenders, like the off-shore oil rig operators and ship owners, but to no avail. “Many vessels anchored at the harbour even throw the residue oil into the sea while cleaning up the vessel,’’ a coast guard offical said. “We sent notices and even informed the local port authorities about the oil spill, but much has changed.’’ According to senior coast guard officials, under MARPOL (international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships and maritime pollution) of which India is also a signatory, port trusts and the director-general of shipping have certain obligations, including taking measures to prevent oil spill, having a disaster management plans in place and keeping equipment for cleaning oil spills. “The recent spill has come to the limelight because tracts of mangroves have been killed in the effect. However, few gets to know about the large quantity of oil that gets leaked into the sea every day, polluting the beaches of Alibaug, Kihim, Kashid and Janjira and contaminating marine life,’’ the official said. Enviromentalists are worried about how to control the hydrocarbon effluents washing up on the beaches, especialy in Alibaug and Raigad, where the sand has turned grey and black. “Till a few years ago, Alibaug had one of the best beaches in the country. Today, it is almost destroyed by the persistent pollution and sand-mining,’’ said Sumaira Abdulali of Awaaz Foundation.Abdulali has now written to the ministry of environment and forests, asking the officials to look into the matter. “A month ago, when my son had gone for a swim off the Kihim beach, he came out covered in a film of oil. This would never happen abroad where the rules are very strict and offenders have to have pay huge fines,’’ Abdulali added. Even sailing enthusiasts share the greens’ worries and added that the spills also posed as a huge setback for tourism and recreational sports, such as sailing and beach combing. “Even I feel that there should be greater vigilance in the harbour area. There is little awareness about coastal pollution in the country as a result of which, our beaches get so polluted that some of them are not even fit to dip one’s feet in,’’ said Shakeel Kudrolli, a veteran sailor and an executive committee member of the Indian Marine Federeation. 
STUNNED: Fishermen claim
that they have never seen stingrays being washed up on
Mankeshwar beach in such a large number
MARK OF CONCERN:
Stretches on Kihim beach have been blackened by effluents
from oil rigs and industrial units. The situation is similar
on Kashid and Janjira beaches
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